HOUSTON (Nexstar) — As of late Wednesday evening, approximately 5,000 people passed through the security checkpoint for the public repose in the state funeral of President George H.W. Bush, according to Jim McGrath, post-White House spokesman for the Bush family.
Shuttles with President Bush’s name on display helped transport people to the St. Martin’s Episcopal Church. Kathleen Evans was among the people who stopped by to pay their final respects to President Bush.
“It’s intense,” Evans said. “You know, he was a great president and has a beautiful family and lived a great legacy, so it’s really nice to be able to pay your respects.”
Both Evans and her mother, Mary Kay Evans, are from Houston. The public repose provided them time to think about President Bush’s service and the life his family led in Houston.
“They were just a very humble family,” she said. “The greatness that they achieved never deterred from their humility. They always seemed like they felt privileged to be where they were.”
When former First Lady Barbara Bush died, Bush personally thanked the people who showed up to her service at the St. Martin’s Episcopal Church.
McGrath tweeted that wait times are currently around an hour or less. The public repose is scheduled to end at 6 a.m. Thursday. Bush’s funeral will start at 10 a.m. and afterwards, he will be carried by the Union Pacific “Bush 4141” Locomotive to College Station, where he will be buried alongside his wife and daughter.
